Overview

• Sen. Ed Markey and Sen. Ben Ray Luján petitioned the FCC for a full Commission vote on the $8 billion merger, citing risks to CBS’s editorial independence after the Trump settlement.
• On July 2, Paramount Global agreed to pay President Trump $16 million to resolve his $20 billion election-interference lawsuit over a ‘60 Minutes’ interview.
• Brendan Carr is weighing new approval terms that could require release of full interview transcripts and the appointment of a newsroom ombudsman.
• The deal has secured SEC and European Commission clearance but remains pending FCC sign-off under an October 6 deadline.
• Lawmakers warned that conditioning merger approval on editorial concessions creates a novel precedent for federal oversight of newsroom practices.